Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Rio Vista (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Rio Vista. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Rio Vista is located in Middlesex County .
To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries .
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Middlesex County : Essex , Norfolk , Suffolk , Worcester & Hillsborough (NH) .
Below are the counties that are near Rio Vista. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rio Vista:
Middlesex County (The home county of Rio Vista)
The following are listed by their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Nutting Lake (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Nutting Lake is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutting Lake North Billerica (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
North Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Billerica Billerica (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billerica Population from the 2020 Census: 43,021 people
Bedford Springs (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Bedford Springs is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs Carlisle (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Carlisle is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle Population from the 2020 Census: 5,231 people
Bedford (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Bedford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Population from the 2020 Census: 14,053 people
Pinehurst (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
Pinehurst is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst Chelmsford (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelmsford Population from the 2020 Census: 35,528 people
Carlisle Station (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Carlisle Station is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle Station Ayres City (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Ayres City is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres City Tewksbury (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
Tewksbury is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewksbury Population from the 2020 Census: 30,970 people
Burlington (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Burlington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington Population from the 2020 Census: 28,432 people
Essex County
The following are listed by their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Haggetts (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
Haggetts is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts Lowell Junction (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
Lowell Junction is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell Junction Andover (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
Andover is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover Population from the 2020 Census: 36,554 people
West Andover (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
West Andover is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover Shawsheen Village (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Shawsheen Village is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsheen Village Lynnfield (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
Lynnfield is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnfield Population from the 2020 Census: 13,040 people
Lawrence (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
Lawrence is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence Population from the 2020 Census: 80,007 people
North Andover (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
North Andover is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover Population from the 2020 Census: 31,460 people
Methuen (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
Methuen is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methuen Population from the 2020 Census: 50,910 people
Brigadoon Village (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
Brigadoon Village is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon Village Middleton (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
Middleton is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton Population from the 2020 Census: 10,107 people
Saugus (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
Saugus is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugus Population from the 2020 Census: 28,542 people
Norfolk County
The following are listed by their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Wellesley Farms (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms Wellesley (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
Wellesley is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Population from the 2020 Census: 28,684 people
Wellesley Hills (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills Babson Park (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
Babson Park is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park Needham Heights (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights Brookline Village (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village Brookline (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Brookline is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Population from the 2020 Census: 59,022 people
Needham (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
Needham is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
Westbrook Village (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village Charles River Village (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Dover (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Dover is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover Population from the 2020 Census: 6,119 people
Dedham (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
Dedham is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham Population from the 2020 Census: 25,345 people
Plymouth County
The following are listed by their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Hull (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
Hull is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull Population from the 2020 Census: 10,484 people
Bayside (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Bayside is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside Kenberma (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Kenberma is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma Hingham (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
Hingham is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hingham Population from the 2020 Census: 24,720 people
West Hingham (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
West Hingham is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham Suffolk County
The following are listed by their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Allston (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
Allston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston Brighton (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
Brighton is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton Charlestown (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
Charlestown is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlestown Franklin Park (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
Franklin Park is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park Bay Village (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Bay Village is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village Boston (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston Population from the 2020 Census: 691,531 people
Chelsea (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Chelsea is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea Population from the 2020 Census: 39,230 people
Revere (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Revere is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revere Population from the 2020 Census: 52,375 people
East Boston (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
East Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boston Jamaica Plain (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
Jamaica Plain is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamaica Plain Highland (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
Highland is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Roxbury (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
Roxbury is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury Worcester County
The following are listed by their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Shaker Village (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
Shaker Village is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village Harvard (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
Harvard is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Population from the 2020 Census: 6,618 people
Still River (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
Still River is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River Bolton (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
Bolton is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton Population from the 2020 Census: 5,476 people
Fayville (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
Fayville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayville Seventh Day Adventist Village (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
Southborough (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
Southborough is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
Lancaster (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Lancaster is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Population from the 2020 Census: 7,857 people
North Village (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
North Village is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village Berlin (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
Berlin is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin Population from the 2020 Census: 3,731 people
Carterville (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
Carterville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterville Lunenburg Station (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Lunenburg Station is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg Station Hillsborough County (NH)
The following are listed by their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Pelham (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <1>
Hudson (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Hudson is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Population from the 2020 Census: 25,620 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <1>
Hollis Depot (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Hollis Depot is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Depot Nashua (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Nashua is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua Population from the 2020 Census: 89,167 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashua <1>
Hollis (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <1>
South Merrimack (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
South Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Merrimack Brookline (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
Litchfield (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
East Merrimack (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
East Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Merrimack Merrimack (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Reeds Ferry (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
Reeds Ferry is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry East Milford (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
East Milford is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Milford Rockingham County (NH)
The following are listed by their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Salem (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Salem is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Population from the 2020 Census: 30,641 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
Windham (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Windham is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham Population from the 2020 Census: 14,865 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windham <1>
Wilson Corners (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Wilson Corners is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corners North Salem (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
Atkinson (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
Westville (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Westville is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville Londonderry (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Plaistow (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
Derry (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Derry is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry Population from the 2020 Census: 33,442 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derry <1>
Hampstead (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Hubbard (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Hubbard is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Derry Village (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Derry Village is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rio Vista, see our County-by-County Page for Rio Vista .
Cemeteries Near Rio Vista ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rio Vista.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know . If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Rio Vista - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rio Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
South Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the east)
Green Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
North Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cemetery The North Cemetery has also been known as:
Old North Cemetery Old Corner Burying Ground (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Corner Burying Ground The Old Corner Burying Ground has also been known as:
Old Corner Cemetery Fox Hill Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Pine Ridge Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Pine Branch Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Forefathers Burying Ground (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
St. Josephs Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Heart Pond Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
Forest Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Continue List (608 more) ...
St. Bernards Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Edson Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
St. Patrick Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Patrick Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Patrick Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Lowell . Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91663 <3>
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>
While we didn't find Rio Vista in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rio Vista.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rio Vista, with the one closest to Rio Vista listed first.
Riverside (Less than 2 miles to the south)
Riverside is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside South Billerica (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
South Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Billerica Carlisle (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Carlisle is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle Population from the 2020 Census: 5,231 people
Bedford Springs (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Bedford Springs is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs Billerica (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billerica Population from the 2020 Census: 43,021 people
North Billerica (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
North Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Billerica Bedford (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Bedford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Population from the 2020 Census: 14,053 people
West Bedford (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
West Bedford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bedford East Billerica (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
East Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Billerica Chelmsford (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelmsford Population from the 2020 Census: 35,528 people
South Chelmsford (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
South Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Chelmsford Carlisle Station (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Carlisle Station is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle Station Continue List (24 more) ...
North Acton (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
North Acton is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Acton Tewksbury (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
Tewksbury is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewksbury Population from the 2020 Census: 30,970 people
Bleachery (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Bleachery is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleachery
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rio Vista. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rio Vista .
Newspapers Published in Rio Vista ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) .
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rio Vista.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rio Vista, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<5> Extended Newspaper List for Rio Vista.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Rio Vista:
Websites specific to Massachusetts Pages specific to Middlesex County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Essex County Norfolk County Plymouth County Suffolk County Worcester County Hillsborough County Rockingham County Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rio Vista. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System ). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net . The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com . We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rio Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rio Vista) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.